A Different HalfBlood Prince
by Iri711
Summary: Nikolas Prince is the son of Voldemort's twin sister, Nagini. Out of loyalty to his family, he became a Death Eater, but he couldn't stand the things his uncle did in the name of power. So, when Nikolas's Muggle girlfriend becomes pregnant with a baby girl, he enlists the help of his cousin, Severus Snape, to keep her hidden until she is ready to take her place in their world. AU
1. Prologue

**December 31, 1926**

Merope Gaunt screamed in pain as she gave one final push. A high-pitched cry pierced the air, this one a couple of octaves higher than those her son had given a few minutes earlier. "It's a girl," one of the ladies said excitedly. "Congratulations, ma'am, you have two beautiful, twin babies. What will you name them?"

"The boy is Tom after his father and Marvolo after my father. Tom Marvolo Riddle," Merope panted. "And the girl is Nagini," she drew in a shaky breath, feeling herself slipping away, "Nagini Merope Riddle, after her grandmother and me… Take care of them." Merope Gaunt fell silent and just a moment later slipped from the world forever.

**May 23, 1979**

Nagini's eldest son, Nicholas Prince, Apparated straight into his cousin's home and began pacing. "I need your help, Severus."

"I'm not inclined to help a Riddle at the moment," Severus Snape replied, having just returned from a conversation with Albus Dumbledore. In front of any other Death Eater, this would have meant certain death for him, but Severus knew he could trust Nicholas— especially if he had something the other man wanted.

"Then think of me as a Prince. Think of me as the son of your mother's brother and not the son of my uncle's sister," he begged. "Something terrible has happened, and you're the only one who can help me. You have Dumbledore fooled into thinking you're on his side."

"Tell me what's going on," Severus conceded with a sigh.

"I'm going to be a father, but if my uncle knew of this child he would kill me and the mother on-site," Nicholas explained. "And what's worse would be him deciding to let them live. The child is a girl. She would be abused as a child and…" The words died on his lips.

"Why would the Dark Lord want to hurt your child, Nick? You are one of his most loyal subjects," Severus inquired.

"I was, Sev," Nick said as he crumpled into a chair. "But that was before I fell in love with a Muggle." Severus looked sharply at him. "You are teaching at Hogwarts, and there's a good chance she will be there in another eleven or twelve years. I'd like for you to give her this memory." Nick took a vial from his cloak pocket. "I've altered the mother's memories, and even inclined her toward a Muggle man who's loved her for many years, much as you've loved Lily. It killed me to do so, but this is the only way to keep them both safe."

"I will carry your message," Severus agreed and took the vial.

**October 31, 1981**

"Tom, please don't go," Nagini begged. "What threat could an infant pose to you after you've done so much to fortify yourself against death?"

"Do not call me by that name, Nagini!" Tom Riddle thundered at his twin sister. "The prophecy said that this child would be a threat to me, and so I must destroy him before he grows in power."

"What if you meet your downfall by trying to kill him?" she demanded.

"You said it yourself, Nagini. How could a mere infant thwart the power of Lord Voldemort?" he retorted coldly and Apparated away to Godric's Hollow.

**November 1, 1981**

Nicholas was thrilled to hear the news of his uncle's demise and wasted no time in searching out his Muggle sweetheart and their daughter. When he found them, however, she was happily married. The same man he had all but paired her up with was holding his daughter and smiling at her as if she were his own. Any other Death Eater would have marched in there, taken what was theirs, and slaughtered anyone who stood in their way. Nicholas was not a Death Eater at heart, though. He hadn't even been a Slytherin at Hogwarts as the hat had put him in Ravenclaw instead.

Seeing how happy they were, he lingered only long enough to learn his daughter's name before Apparating to the Ministry of Magic and handing over his wand.

**August 1, 1991**

After much review during his trial, the Wizengamot had decided that Nicholas Prince had been pulled into his uncle's service because they were family. Both Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape had spoken for him. He was sentenced to 9 ¾ years in Azkaban after which he would be released and employed by Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Many parents among the Wizengamot had protested the idea of Lord Voldemort's nephew teaching at the school, but eventually they agreed that there was no better place for such a man than under Albus Dumbledore's watchful eyes.

Now, he was preparing his classroom for the upcoming year. Professor Dumbledore had visited him many times while he was in Azkaban to keep him updated on the curriculum for his promised subject, Muggle Studies. His predecessor, Professor Quirrell, had taken over the Defense Against the Dark Arts position.

Nicholas smiled, remembering what Dumbledore had told him earlier. This was the year his daughter would come to Hogwarts. Only he, Dumbledore, and Severus knew he had a child. He would get to see her grow as a witch. Idly, he wondered which house she would be sorted into just a month later.

**September 1, 1991**

The Sorting Hat seemed to be absolutely baffled because it had been deciding what to do with her for nearly ten minutes. "My dear, it has never taken me so long to Sort a student. Your thirst for knowledge would have given Rowena Ravenclaw herself a run for her money. Helga Hufflepuff would have been extremely proud to see someone so hard working and loyal. Your courage rivals even Godric Gryffindor's. And at the back of it all is an overwhelming thirst to prove yourself. Even your sense of logic has a clever and cunning edge to it. You, young lady, are a force to be reckoned with, make no mistake about that. It seems I must make a decision based on blood, seeing as you would do wonderfully in any house. I just hope my choice will change you for the better and not the worse."

The young girl sat there wondering what the hat could possibly mean when it finally shouted, "SLYTHERIN!" Her new housemates burst into applause, but one unsorted first year stared incredulously at her from the queue. Neither of them noticed a professor watching her with pride that could not quite mask his worry.

Once the feast ended and they had returned to their common room, the boy—who had been Sorted into Slytherin—fixed her with his best sneer. "That old hat has lost its mind. How on Earth could a Mudblood possibly be worthy of Slytherin?"

The girl pulled her wand from her robes with deathly speed and pressed the tip against his neck. "If you ever describe me by that word again, I will hex you into next week, and don't think I couldn't do it. I have read and memorized every single one of our text books. You do not want to cross me, Malfoy." She relaxed and lowered her wand as the initial anger faded. "I was adopted by the man I call 'Dad' after I was born. I don't know anything about my biological father. For all we know, I could be a descendant of Salazar Slytherin himself."

Malfoy looked thoroughly chagrined by the rather public scene he had caused, and before he could stop himself, did something he had never done in front of others: "I'm sorry, Granger."


	2. Chapter 1

Nikolas had never imagined that watching his daughter grow up would be so stressful. Hermione Granger seemed to find herself in some sort of danger every year. He about fainted when he was told she had been trapped in the girls' bathroom with a mountain troll and wasted no time in awarding an extra ten points each to Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley for saving her life. Nikolas did not fail to note fate's sense of humor when realized that his daughter had befriended the very boy who had led to her great-uncle's downfall. Of course, Hermione had no idea Nikolas was her father, and that she was related to the man who had orphaned her best friend. He had thought countless times of telling her, but it was too soon to lay that kind of information on the girl.

Hermione's second year, Nikolas was given another burst of worry and pride when it was discovered that she was a Parselmouth. The basilisk had nearly petrified a Ravenclaw prefect, but Hermione had saved the girl by telling the snake to leave her be. Afterward, no one could decide which student was the Heir of Slytherin: Harry Potter or Hermione Granger. Many people were inclined to believe that it was Hermione simply because she was in Slytherin house. None of them knew that she was technically an heir of Slytherin just the not _the_ heir.

Nikolas had spoken to the Sorting Hat after this incident. "Don't tell me you're here to question my sorting abilities, too," it said warily. "Your daughter—yes, I know Hermione Granger is your daughter—would have been a perfect student for any house in this school. She possesses all of the qualities that the four founders prized in their students. I placed her in Slytherin because of her ancestry, but also because her courage, wit, and loyalty had a very Slytherin edge to them. If it will ease your worries, though, she is nothing at all like her great-uncle. She will only use her abilities to help others."

"Thank you," he told the Hat fervently, and the something it had said struck him. "Someone has been questioning your ability to sort students?"

"Young Harry Potter was in here not too long ago wondering if I was sure I had put him in the right house," the Sorting Hat replied irritably. "I stand by what I told him last year. He would have done well in Slytherin, but that boy is one Hell of a Gryffindor, too."

"Yes, he is," Nikolas agreed. "Not many people who defied my uncle in person survived a second encounter, and it was unheard of in the case of children. But to have the courage to face down the man who made you an orphan even in his spirit form is admirable."

"I had hoped you would not hate the boy, Nikolas, but I admit that I did not expect admiration." The voice of Albus Dumbledore startled both Nikolas and the Hat.

"I hold no love for my uncle just as he held no love for anyone. I was not the least bit sad to hear he had departed from this world. You know this, Albus. That poor boy has led a miserable life. His uncle is as anti-magic as mine was anti-Muggle. Will you be sending Harry to live with Sirius once he is released from Azkaban?"

"No, but I have my reasons, Nikolas. It's more important now than ever for Harry to be living with a blood-relative. Lord Voldemort has already made one attempt to return, and I believe we may be in the midst of another. You are aware—I trust—that it was he who opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago." Nikolas nodded.

"He told my brothers and me about it when we were younger but never revealed the location to me because I was sorted into Ravenclaw. If he told the others, the secret died with them." Nikolas stared at the ground remembering the Auror attack that had led to the death of his brothers a month before their uncle fell. His mother had been inconsolable for weeks. Then, once her brother was gone and her only living child was locked away in Azkaban, she retreated to her Animagus form—a green viper—and disappeared.

"Did he ever say what sort of creature the Chamber held?" Dumbledore asked hopefully.

"No, but I always assumed it was some sort of snake, seeing as Slytherin himself was a Parselmouth. Uncle always took great pride in his own ability to speak the language of snakes," Nikolas replied. Dumbledore's expression became one of deep thought.

"But what kind of snake could it be?" The older man asked, more to himself than anyone else.

Of course, it had been his daughter to discover the answer to Dumbledore's question. She, Harry, and Ron had taken it upon themselves to save Ginny Weasley in Dumbledore's absence, abducting a professor in the process.

And the series of unfortunate events continued. Third year, the trio captured Peter Pettigrew who was sentenced to life in Azkaban. Sirius Black's name was completely cleared, and he promised to visit Harry as often as possible. Fourth year, the Triwizard Tournament came, and they actually managed to stay out of harm's way if you didn't count the incident at the Quidditch World Cup. Before the start of fifth year, the Order of the Phoenix was called together after a mass break out of Death Eaters from Azkaban. Dumbledore tried to tell the Minister of Magic that Voldemort was attempting to return, but Cornelius Fudge refused to believe him.

So, there they were, the beginning of his daughter's fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and she had been made a prefect.

"You're not shocked, are you, Nik?" Severus asked with a laugh. "She's twice the model student you were, and that is saying something. I just hope she and Mr. Malfoy don't kill one another. Draco is a bit too much like his father. I just hope it won't ruin his future if the Dark Lord does to return." A worried gaze met Nik's eyes. "Do you really think he could return? Could the Dark Lord come back to life?"

"I don't know, Severus. Only one person ever truly new him, and she disappeared fourteen years ago." Nik sighed. "I don't think you need to worry about Draco, though. He may be as arrogant as Lucius, but at least he's capable of human feeling. And, he's been taking my Muggle Studies class of his own free will."

Severus suppressed a rare laugh. "I wondered at his decision to take Muggle Studies. Lucius was furious when I explained that it was Draco's idea. Some prying, however, revealed that he one of his classmates said he would not last a year in Muggle Studies, and a Malfoy does not back down from a challenge."

"Was that enough to pacify Lucius?" Nik asked, laughing along with Severus.

"Yes, although Lucius can't fathom why he continues with the class, or why you continue to teach it for that matter."

"No, I don't suppose he would." Nik looked down at the floor of his cousin's dungeon office.

The second day of classes Nik decided to speak with Draco. "Mr. Malfoy, could you stay behind for a moment." Hermione shot Draco a smug look at left the classroom. The latter failed to conceal the look of annoyance he directed at Nik.

"What do you need, professor?" he asked calmly.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your latest argument with Miss Granger, but I wanted to speak with you about something Professor Snape brought to my attention." Nik watched Draco's confusion flicker to horror and then feigned confusion. "Why do you continue with this class, Mr. Malfoy?"

"I'm not quite sure what you mean, professor," Draco replied innocently.

Nikolas cast privacy wards on the room to make sure they would not be overheard. "I've known your father for most of my life, Draco. We served the Dark Lord together. He is not exactly a fan of Muggles. Severus tells me you signed up for my class at the end of second year because a fellow student said you would not last one year in Muggle Studies. You certainly proved him or her wrong. So, why do you continue to provoke Lucius's disapproval?"

"One of Father's favorite sayings is, 'Know thy enemy.' He thinks I'm gathering information about Muggles to find more subtle ways of controlling and eventually eradicating them," Draco said in a tone that was barely audible.

"No one passing by can hear us," Nik assured him. "And I suppose that would be enough to keep Lucius at bay. I sincerely hope that is not your real reason, though." Draco's cheeks turned pink.

"It's not," he admitted reluctantly. Draco took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I take this class because of Hermione. She's the one who challenged me in the first place. And now… It gives us something to talk about that doesn't lead to a fight. Weasley doesn't like talking about Muggles because his dad is obsessed with them, and Potter avoids the subject because it reminds him of the Muggles who raised him. I'm the only other Slytherin in Muggle Studies, so we do our homework together."

Nik tried to remain as impartial as possible as a new kind of stress flooded his system. "Do you have feelings for Hermione?"

Draco hesitated for what seemed like several minutes, "I think I love her, sir." The words echoed in Nik's mind, and he barely avoided collapsing into a chair. "Please don't tell anyone. If my father found out I had feelings for a Muggleborn, he would be absolutely furious. I doubt he would even let me explain that she was adopted by her Muggle father so she very well could be a half-blood."

"I won't say a word, Draco. How did you know she's adopted?" Nik asked.

Draco's eyes darted to the floor. "On our very first night at Hogwarts, I insulted her because I had heard her parents were Muggles. I asked her how a Mudblood could be worthy of Slytherin. Then, she threatened to hex me adding that she didn't know who her biological father was, and for all we knew she could be descended from Salazar Slytherin himself. I wasn't so sure about that last bit until second year; but I know a lie when I see one, and she definitely wasn't bluffing about being able to hex me."

"Mudblood is a very ugly word, Draco. I'm surprised she didn't hex you, first year or not," Nik said, ignoring the sudden flare of anger. If he had known his daughter was called a Mudblood on her first night at Hogwarts, Draco would still be serving detentions for it.

"I know. I'm sorry, professor. I would never use the word now. I haven't used it at all since that night. That was the first time I questioned the things Father taught me."

"Between you and me, I think your father is wrong about a lot of things, and so was the Dark Lord."

"If you think the Dark Lord was wrong, why did you serve him?" Draco asked.

"He was my uncle. It was expected," Nik replied. "I never agreed with his views, though. In truth, I despised his very existence." Once the words began to pour out, Nik couldn't stop himself. "If it weren't for Voldemort, I would have a family. I would go home to a Muggle wife and spend the school years teaching a daughter who knows me as 'Dad' first and 'Professor' second. But I had to give them up because he would have killed all three of us."

Draco looked into Nik's eyes and saw the truth in their sea-green depths—the same sea-green depths that, in a different face, mesmerized him every single day. "Hermione," he said with a tone of discovery. "Hermione is your daughter. How could we not have noticed the similarities sooner? She's been trying to find her biological father for almost three years. Potter, Weasley, and I have been helping. We all assumed he—you—had been a Slytherin because she's a Parselmouth. Wow, she really is descended from Salazar." Horror and embarrassment flooded his face. "And I just confessed my feelings for her to you."

A shaky smile emerged on Nik's face. "I'll keep your secret if you'll keep mine," he said, realizing how childish it sounded. Draco bit his lip.

"I don't know if I can keep this from her, sir. It kills her not to know who her real father is. She already figured out that her mother's memories were altered, and she wonders who would go to such trouble to conceal their identity, but most of all she wonders why. You need to tell her the truth, sir."

"If your best friend's parents had been murdered when he was only a baby, would you want to find out that your great-uncle was the one who had killed them?" Nik asked, not really seeking an answer. "I will tell her… as soon as I find the words to explain it all." Draco nodded reluctantly. He could understand, but he still didn't like the idea of keeping such a large secret from Hermione. Draco and Nik walked to the Great Hall for lunch in silence—both pondering the truths revealed in their conversation.

**Author Note:** I am SOOO sorry this update took so long. I've been insanely busy, and it's only going to get worse with college and homework in full swing. I will try to update as often as possible.

As for story events: Sirius Black was given a lesser sentence because Nikolas had been able to give evidence proving that he was never a Death Eater, but Sirius still went to Azkaban for the "murder" of Peter Pettigrew. Because Pettigrew was captured and put in Azkaban, Voldemort is not found until quite after Barty Crouch Jr. throws off the Imperius Curse at the Quidditch World Cup. This also means Professor Moody is the real Mad-Eye Moody. Harry's name is not entered into the Goblet of Fire, but I'm going to say that sixteen-year-olds were allowed to enter. Fred Weasley became the Hogwarts Champion, and he won. (This gives Fred and George the start-up money for their joke shop.) The Order of the Phoenix is resurrected immediately after the mass prison break. We'll see more of Hermione and Draco in the next chapter, and yes this is a Dramione fic. My first Dramione fic actually, so please be gentle. Reviews are highly appreciated.


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